Clicking machine



CLICKING MACHINE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Original Filed June 29, 1951 Nov. 19, 1935. M, H BALLMDv n AL 2,021,219

CLICKING MACHINE 2 sheets-sheet 2 Original Filed June 29, 1951 Patented Nov. 19, 1935 UNITED STATES CLICKING MACHINE Milton H. Ballard and Donald G. McLean, Beverly, Mass., assignors to United Shoe Machinery Corporation, Paterson, N. J., a corporation of New Jersey Original application June 29, 1931, Serial No.

547,546. Divided and this application November 1, 1934, Serial No. 751,030

7 Claims.

This invention relates to machines for operating upon sheet material and is herein illustrated as embodied in a clicking machine of the type disclosed in United States Letters Patent No'.

921,503, granted May 11, 1909, upon an application led in the name of Arthur Bates and illustrating a machine comprising a work 'supporting cutting bed, a reciprocating post having a presser arm secured thereto and extending laterally over the bed and movable .toward and away from the bed, producing pressure applying operations to force dies through sheet material positioned upon the bed thereby to form blanks. This application is a division of application Serial No. 547,546, filed June 29, 1931 in our names.

It is an object of the invention to provide an improved machine of the type referred to which will be economical in operation and various parts of which can be readily adjusted or replaced.

To' this end and as illustrated, the invention provides a machine comprising a frame, a reciprocating post mounted in the frame, and a removable bearing at one end of the post which is arranged for adjustment longitudinally and transversely of the frame together with means for maintaining the bearing in adjusted position. This construction is advantageous in that it provides for the adjustment of the bearing in assembling the post in the machine and facilitates the removal of the post for servicing.

Preferably and as shown, the end of the post which is engaged by the bearing is relieved on one side of the post thus reducing the friction between the post and bearing upon rotation of the post. This construction reduces the amount o-f energy required of an operator to swing the presser member over the bed.

Other features of the invention will be apparent from the following detailed description when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings and will be pointed out in the claims.'

In the drawings,

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a machine illustrating one embodiment of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the upper end of the frame of the machine showing the upper bearing for the post; and

Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the lines III-III of Fig. 2.

As illustrated in Fig. 1 of the drawings the machine comprises a G-shaped frame I0 upon one side of which is slidably mounted a hollow upright post I2 having secured thereto a presser member or arm I4 arranged for cooperation with a cutting block IB mounted upon the opposite side of the frame. As is customary in machines of this type the post I2 is movable angularly about its axis so that the presser arm I4 secured thereto can be moved over the bed I6 about the axis of the post, that is, into operative position relative toa freely movable cutting die located upon the work. The post I2 is arranged for reciprocation heightwise of the frame by a connecting rod I8 which extends through the post I2 and is removably secured within the upper end thereof by any suitable means, such as, for example, ball and socket members of the type shown in United States Letters Patent No. 1,902,054, granted March 21, 1933, upon an application filed in our names. The other end o-f the connecting rod I8 is secured to an eccentric upon a rotary shaft 2l which is controlled by a one-revolution clutch 22 adapted to cause engagement of the shaft 2l with the flywheel 24. Reciprocation of the post I2 results in movementof the presser arm` I4 to-Ward and then 15 away from the cutting block I5 in a pressure applying operation effective to force a die through the work in producing a blank.

In order to facilitate the assembly of the post in the machine and to provide for the convenient removal of the post when necessary to service it, the bearings for the post are so constructed and arranged that the post can be inserted or removed without disturbing other parts of the machine. To this end the lower end of the post 25 extends through a bearing 26 at the lower portion of the frame I0 and near its upper portion is engaged by a semi-annular bearing 28 (Fig. 1) which is positioned to take the lateral thrust of the post under the load caused by the operation 3o of the presser arm i4 upon the work. The extreme upper end of the post is reduced in siz'e to form a cylindrical member 30 which is engaged by a bearing'in the form of a cap 32 resting upon the upper portion of the frame Il).

The greater part of the lateral thrust to which the post is subjected when the arm I 4 is under load is taken by the bearing 28. Accordingly, the periphery of the cylindricalmember 39 is cut away or relieved on the side remote from 40 the presser member as indicated by the reference character 312 (Fig. 2). Thus the cylindrical member 30 engages the walls of an opening 36 in the cap 32 only at the forward portions thereof, this being suflicient in View of the fact that the bearing at the upper end of the post is needed only to support the weight of the post and presser member I4 during such times as the presser member is not under load. This construction is advantageous in that by relieving the member 30 as described the friction between the member and the bearing 32 is correspondingly reduced, thereby reducing the effort required of an operator to turn the' post during movements of the presser member laterally over the cutting block I6 about 55 the axis of the post. i

The cap or bearing 32 is positioned upon seat 35 (Fig. 3) which is provided with tapered lateral walls 4o, the cap being held in position by means of wedges 42 and 44 which are forced 00 '44, the wedge t2 being left in position.

in opposite directions into engagement with the walls ri and the side walls of'a central rib E of the cap. In initially positioning the cap the post and presser member are located with. the

-by a bolt l located in an` opening le in the cap which passes through an elongated opening 5B in the wedge Q2 and by a set screw 52 which passes through the cap and engages the wedge 4d. The cap is further secured in position by bolts 54 which extend through elongated slots 55 in the Vcap and 'which engage the frame lil.

Removal of the post i2 from the machine is readily accomplished, after disconnecting the connecting rod EB, by removing the cap' 32 after releasing the bolts 555 and withdrawing the wedge After the cap 32 has been removed the post can be raised a short distance to free its lower end from the bearing 26 and can then be tilted forwardly and removed from the machine. When the post released the cap is returned to its original posi- Y tion being guided by the inner wall of the wedge Y 42 so that the setting of the cap is not lost.

To provide for taking up the cap bearing upon wear of the walls of the opening 35 the rear end frame l e.

of the cap is providedwitha downwardly pro-V jecting ear 56 through which extends a set screw 58 arranged to engage therear portion of the Y fn tightening the bearing the bolts 5e, 5b and the set screw 552 are loosened and the screw '58 is forced inwardly thereby withdrawof the bore 36.

From the foregoing it will be apparent that the invention provides a bearing construction for a clicking machine which is effective to minimize the effort required to rotate the post upon Y 415'; locating the presser member in operative position over the cutting block and at the same Vtime provides means whereby the post can readily be removed for servicing without interfering with other parts of the machine.

Having described our invention, what we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is;

l. A clicking machine comprising a C-shajped frame, a post mounted for reciprocation in the l frame, a bearing member slidably mounted upon the upper portion of the frame and having bearing surfaces for engaging the end of the post, means for forcing the bearing member in a direction transversely to the axis of the post to accommodate for wear of the bearing surfaces, and

means for securing the member in adjusted position.V

V2. A clicking machine comprising a C-shaped frame, a post mounted for reciprocation in the frame and having at its upper end'a cylindrical bearing surface, a bearing member slidably mounted upon the uppen portion of the frame Vand having cylindrical bearing surfaces engaging the bearing surfaces of the post, a guideway 70; in the frame for receiving the bearing member having side walls angularly disposed to the axis of the post, a rib on the bearing member positioned in the guideway and having side walls extendingisubstantially at right angles to the axis of the post, a plurality of wedges inserted lbetween the side walls of thevrib and the guideway for securing the bearing member in position laterally of the axis of the post one of the wedges having an elongated slot extending therethrough, and a bolt positioned in the slot for securing the Wedge in position whereby the setting of the bearing member can be maintained. Y

3. A clicking machine comprising a frame, aV

Y'post mounted for reciprocation in the Vframe and its axis, a presser arm secured to the post and located substantiaily on one side thereof, a bearing engaging one end of the post-,a bearing at the other en-d of the post arranged to engage the post upon the side thereof adjacent to lthe presser arm forV supporting the weight of the arm, and an intermediate bearing arranged to engage the post between its ends upon the side thereof remote from the presser arm for resisting the lateral thrust of the post caused by pressure applied to the arm. 1

5. A clicking machine comprising aframe, a reciprocating post mounted in Vthe frame `and having acylindrical end portion, a presser arml secured to the post and located substantially upon one side thereof, andra bearing for the post 4b cylindrical bearing surfaces, the vpost 'having aperipheral surface a portion of which .is ar- 50-L rangedA for engaging the bearing, the remainder of'said peripheral surface being relieved to reduce the friction between the bearing surfaces of the member and post.

'7. A clicking machine comprisingua frame, a' post mounted in the frame forreciprocation relatively thereto and for angular movement about the axis off the post, a presser arm securedto the post and locatedV substantially kupon'one side thereon, a bearing inthe framev for engaging surfaces of the post at the lower'end thereof, a

bearing mounted in the frame for engaging Vsurfaces of the post at the upperV end thereof, means for relieving the upper bearing` surfacesof the post so that such surfaces will be engaged only upon the same side of the .post as the presser arm, and a semi-annular bearing arranged to engage the post at portions thereof intermediate of its ends.

MILTON H. BALLARD.

DONALD G. McLEA'N. 

